Not so long ago, a private initiative was formed in Tarteln around the Transylvanian Saxon homeowner Joachim Gherghel to preserve the 13th century fortified church. Now that the second work assignment has been successfully completed, further steps are already being planned. The medieval gem of Tarteln, which was converted into […]
Fortified churches
85 posts
The Protestant church in Șoarș near Făgăraș has been the focus of the Fortified Churches Foundation team’s activities for nine years. From summer 2023 to March 2024, the final stretch of the work to secure the church was completed – an occasion for a positive interim summary. Ursula Hummes, Chairwoman […]
From June 24 to 29, 2024, the 2nd monument preservation campaign will take place at Tarteln Fortified Church, which means that maintenance work and minor repairs will be carried out. As last year, the “Friends of Tarteln Fortified Church” initiative and the Fortified Churches Foundation invite you to join them […]
Anyone who studies the topic of fortified churches will quickly learn that they also exist outside Transylvania. Some can be found in Germany, Austria and France, for example. Even in the Philippines, fortified churches were built at the instigation of the Spanish colonial rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries. […]
People from five different countries took part in an interersting exchange between UNESCO cultural heritage sites from two continents on 7 March 2024. The event was organized to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the inscription of several monuments on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Transylvania’s landscape of fortified churches was […]
A delegation from the German Association for the Promotion of Art and Culture (VKF) visited Transylvania from 2 to 4 February 2024 to organize a work assignment with around fifty active association members in the spring. The Fortified Churches Foundation of the Evangelical Church A. C. in Romania (EKR) is […]
2024 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the Venice Charter. The document, which was adopted by the International Congress of Architects and Conservationists in the Italian lagoon city in May 1964, also serves the Fortified Churches Foundation as a guideline for its conservation activities. After the devastating catastrophe […]
Even many connoisseurs of the fortified church landscape are hardly familiar with the hidden village of Toarcla, although the ensemble harbours exciting cultural and historical treasures. Many therefore refer to it as a “gem near Fogarasch”. This autumn, the Fortified Churches Foundation took on the task of preserving this architectural […]
One of the most picturesque fortified churches in Transylvania is located in Meșendorf. Situated between the upper reaches of the Hârtibaciu River and national road no. 13, the monumental building was part of an EU-funded renovation project ten years ago. What could not be completed at the time has now […]
The fortified church of Măgheruș, picturesquely situated in the region between the two Târnava Rivers in the Sighișoara church district, has been the focus of our monument conservators for several years. In addition to the maintenance programme started in 2022 with the ARCUS Association from Filitelnic (see report), work was […]
Not even ten years ago, the prospects and chances for the Ormeniș fortified church did not look very promising: Extensive renovation work was last carried out in 1937 and the ravages of time had taken their toll on the venerable little church. The roof in particular was crying out for […]
During a visit to Romania lasting several days, the Vice-President of the German Bundestag, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, made several stops in the landscape of fortified churches. The programme included meetings in Câlnic, Sibiu and Gușterița. On Saturday afternoon, 30 September, the politician stopped in the Sebeș region after visiting this year’s […]
The travelling exhibition The Transylvanian Landscape of Fortified Churches – A European Cultural Heritage of the Fortified Churches Foundation can be seen in the Franconian metropolis of Nuremberg until the end of this month. On 8 September 2023, the vernissage took place in the town hall of Bavaria’s second largest […]
As part of the funding programme for adaptive reuse, the Fortified Churches Foundation was able to carry out longer-planned building work on the fortified church of Movile in June this year. The south tower now has a stage for cultural events. In the community of Movile, where the association Churchfortress […]
From 18 to 20 August 2023, the ninth edition of the Holzstock Festival will take place at the fortified church of Hosman! The event combines entertainment with heritage protection in a unique way and has become a fixed part of the Romanian festival calendar in recent years. This year, the […]
Natalie Pawlik (SPD), the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Related to Ethnic German Resettlers and National Minorities, visited Transylvania from 7 to 9 August 2023. In addition to meetings with representatives of the German Democratic Forum in Romania (DFDR), a visit to the Hărman fortified church was also on the […]
With the fourth edition of HANDS ON CONSERVATION in Apold, the organizers have turned a successful concept into a tradition! Ten participants from Romania and Germany built the second part of a wooden extension within the ring wall of the fortified church. For the duration of two weeks, the fourth […]
A heavy storm has hit parts of the Hârtibaciu Valley, causing serious damage. It is already the second severe weather event to affect the southern Transylvanian region this year. Clean-up and repairs are still underway after the floods, but Movile cannot come to rest. A heavy storm has uprooted trees […]
A seven-member delegation from the Evangelical Church of Westphalia (EKvW), led by Annette Kurschus, EKD Council President and President of the EKvW, toured Sibiu and its surroundings in early July 2023. During the trip, the delegation also paid a visit to the fortified church of Hosman. Ruth István, tourism advisor […]
“No, not directly,” explains Philipp Harfmann, Managing Director of the Fortified Churches Foundation: “But there are special challenges in Transylvania that have to be faced to prevent them from not going at all in the long run.” Since last year, an expert from Germany has been dealing with the solution […]
The Fortified Churches Foundation and the Västergötlands Museum have signed a cooperation agreement to expand and deepen their collaboration. The agreement focuses on the cultural heritage of Transylvanian Saxon fortified churches. The Västergötlands Museum from Skara, Sweden, has entered into an official cooperation with the Fortified Churches Foundation. The cooperation […]
Detailed information and documents for registrations can be found here (Romanian)!
On May 15th, 2023, at 17:00 ath the Cultural History Museum of Åland (Ålands kulturhistoriska museum), HE Maria Ligor, the ambassador of Romania to Finland, and HE Konrad Arz von Straussenburg, the ambassador of Germany, will jointly open the itinerant exhibition “Fortified Churchs – Defense and Protection – An exhibition […]
The graduate students of the Master’s program Protection of European Cultural Heritage of the European University Viadrina from Frankfurt/Oder went on a one-week trip throughout the landscape of fortified churches at the end of April 2023. It was the eighth educational trip to date that SEK students have taken through […]
At the beginning of February 2023, a delegation of vocational teachers from Kassel, Germany visited Transylvania and the Fortified Churches Foundation. During excursions and working discussions with the Foundation’s team, the German teachers decided to extend their commitment to the fortified churches, which began years ago. The Arnold Bode School […]
For years, the Fortified Churches Foundation has been working intensively on concepts for expanding the use of historic churches and fortresses in order to open them up for the future. This year, the foundation’s first “own” project is to be implemented: a project to use the fortified church of Curciu […]
Pre-Christmas traditions, local and regional handicraft products, Christmas music and a joyful atmosphere have made the Christmas market in Hosman (Târg de Crăciun la Hosman) an unforgettable Advent experience for young and old, even in its fourth edition! How do you manage in just five years to make an event […]
One of the most important activity segments of the Fortified Churches Foundation of the Evangelical Church A. B. in Romania is the so-called roof program. Within the framework of this initiative, important and saving interventions on the fortified churches could be carried out again in the ending year 2022. After […]
The traveling exhibition Transylvanian Landscape of Fortified Churches. A European Cultural Heritage is currently on display at the headquarters of the Prime Minister of the German-speaking Community in Eupen, Belgium, until November 16. Those interested can visit the exhibition during opening hours, Monday – Friday, between 8:00 and 18:00, at […]
Five representatives of the parliamentary group of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) from the German Bundestag visited Bucharest, Brașov, Cincșor, Hosman and Sibiu from October 5 to 7, 2022. Within the framework of the trip, the preservation of the fortified churches was also the […]
In early September 2022, a scientific delegation from the Västergötlands Museum in Sweden visited the Fortified Churches Foundation. The visit is a further step towards intensifying contacts between the two institutions and could lead to a cooperation agreement for the future. The Swedish guests, who have maintained good relations with […]
Since July 18, a summer school for professionals and future specialists in the field of monument preservation has been taking place at the Apold fortified church: the Apold Heritage Lab. The participants come from Romania and Germany and are students in the field of architecture and monument preservation. Among the […]
If you ask us what is new about each edition of the HANDS ON CONSERVATION III Summer School, it is first and foremost the team spirit that connects the participants around common interests and passion for the conservation of historic monuments, thus creating a heritage community. The objective of this […]
The construction site at the Lutheran church of Vingard, which started in March, was successfully completed in May. During a church service on the occasion of the handover, new perspectives opened up for the valuable sacred building. The committed mayor in charge surprised the representatives of the church and the […]
On May 17, the Ambassador of Romania in the Federal Republic of Germany, Adriana Stănescu, invited to an event with the theme “Future perspectives for the Transylvanian landscape of fortified churches” at the Embassy in Berlin. The hosting of the evening took place in cooperation with the Fortified Churches Foundation, […]
The detection of structural defects at the earliest stage is crucial for the preservation of historic buildings. Time and again in the past, it has happened that emergency interventions were not carried out until it was already out of hand, because small cracks, a damp patch or a few missing […]
After two years of restrictions and online schooling, children are going out into nature again and schools together with guides and various associations are organizing thematic excursions of exploration and discovery. On Wednesday, the Sibiu County Tourism Association in partnership with the Fortified Churches Foundation and Sibiu’s 18th Primary School […]
Already at the end of March the construction site at the fortified church of Ormeniș (church district of Sighișoara) was opened. Now, on April 5, 2022, a detailed inspection took place on site with representatives of the Fortified Churches Foundation and experts. Before the end of this year, the architectural […]
At the baptismal font of the Lutheran church of Vingard (church district of Sebeș), the first stone was laid on March 7, 2022 to save the sacred architectural jewel. Representatives of the District Consistory and the Fortified Churches Foundation met with the executing experts in wintry weather for the opening […]
On March 4, 2022, the official opening of the construction site on the southeast bastion of the Bruiu fortified church took place. The Fortified Churches Foundation, the Sibiu Church District and the Cârța Parish Community are thus working through another item on a long list to save the entire ensemble. […]
Wir laden Euch herzlich zum diesjährigen Weihnachtsmarkt in Holzmengen ein! Wir erwarten Euch am Samstag, den 18. Dezember von 15 bis 20 Uhr mit einem schönen und vielfältigen Programm, tollen Produkten aus dem Harbachtal und weihnachtlicher Stimmung auf dem Gelände der Kirchenburg!
Already four years ago, the Fortified Churches Foundation published the booklet “Churches and Fortifications in Transylvania” with short descriptions of selected buildings, which is extremely popular among Transylvanian travelers. Now, the product is available in a third and expanded edition. The practical pocket-sized guidebook of the Fortified Churches Foundation has […]
In Movile and Hosman this August and September, young professionals from different fields restored outbuildings of the fortified churches. The work stays were coordinated through the organization European Heritage Volunteers. Young experts from the fields of architecture, art history, monument preservation, restoration and craftsmanship from all over the world […]
The dean of the district of Sighișoara, Dr. Bruno Fröhlich, the building and monument preservation experts of the Fortified Churches Foundation, Ecaterina Gál and Sebastian Bethge, as well as Mr. Alfred Back from the district consistory and Mr. Géza Jakabffy from the contracted construction company Novus Star from Cristuru Secuiesc […]
At the end of June 2021, the representatives of the Mediasch Church District, the Fortified Churches Foundation, architect Alina Curea and the companies involved in the project met at the Church of Șmig to give the starting signal for basic repair work. Once this work is completed, experts will be […]
On an extremely sunny and hot 23 June 2021, representatives of the Evangelical Church, the Romanian cultural authorities and experts from the building industry met on site at the Church of St James of Șoarș near Făgăraș. The work on the façade of the fortified church, which has been planned […]
Die Orgel der evangelischen Kirche aus Tobsdorf (Kirchenbezirk Mediasch) wurde im Herbst 2020 demontiert und in die Mediascher Margarethenkirche überführt. Dies war notwendig geworden, um einem weiteren Verfall, insbesondere durch Feuchtigkeit und Wurmfraß, vorzubeugen. – Nun kann über die Spendenkonten der Stiftung Kirchenburgen ein Beitrag zu ihrer Restaurierung geleistet werden. […]
After the collapse of the vault above the central nave of the fortified church of Alzen the first inventories have begun. The impressions are sad and shocking, but the situation is by no means hopeless. We would like to ask for donations to finance the repairs of the damage caused […]
For the team of the Fortified Churches Foundation, “Corona-times” do not mean a standstill at all: construction work was on the schedule in the past months. In the parish of Ruși (church district of Sibiu), important safety and repair work was carried out in the period from May to August […]
Since a few weeks, the touring exhibition of the Fortified Churches Foundation can also be viewed online. This was made possible by a grant from the Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labor and Social Affairs. The exhibition was developed about five years ago by the Fortfied Churches Foundation in cooperation […]
A panel discussion on the future prospects of the Transylvanian Saxon fortified churches took place on 11 February at the Romanian Embassy in Berlin. The occasion was the conclusion of a project to examine particularly endangered buildings, which was funded from Germany between 2017 and 2019. Afterwards Ambassador Hurezeanu gave […]
Pe 11 februarie 2020, Fundația Biserici Fortificate împreună cu Biserica Evanghelică C.A. din România a încheiat un parteneriat de colaborare cu organizația non-guvernamentală European HeritageVolunteers. Documentul a fost semnat la Ambasada României de la Berlin în prezența Excelenței Sale, Ambasadorului României, domnul Emil Hurezeanu. Scopurile comune ale parteneriatului sunt, pe […]
The church building including the fortification and bell tower in Daia (church district of Sighisoara) has been the focus of the Fortified Churches Foundation for many years. With the support of the “Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation” (AFCP) several important measures have already been taken. Most recently, the roof of […]
The Fortified Churches Foundation, the leading and coordinating office of the Evangelical Church A. C. in Romania (ECR) for the preservation and sustainable use of the fortified church landscape, receives a special grant of over one million euros. The decision of the Bundestag on this funding was already taken in […]
The church building in Apoș near Agnita suffered for years from a lack of use and care after the migration of the German-speaking Protestant population. Only recently, the private association “Villa Abbatis” of the tourism entrepreneur Mihai Barbu took over the administration of the church after the acquisition of the […]
Eleven participants and two trainers met from 19 to 30 August in the church castle of Pelișor for the summer school HANDS ON CONSERVATION II. The Fortified Churches Foundation together with the association P.A.T.R.U. (Patrimoniu, Arhitectură, Tradiție, Rit și Universalitate) had taken over the organization of this ten-day workshop. Architects, […]
The structural damage that occurred above the west gallery of the Protestant church in Copșa Mare (church district of Mediaș) could be secured. As part of an emergency intervention by the Fortified Churches Foundation, not only was the endangered part of the vault supported in June 2019, but two excavated arch bricks were also […]
For one week, the students and professors of the joint course of studies “Digital Monument Technologies” of the University of Bamberg and the University of Coburg travelled throughout the Transylvanian landscape of fortified churches. The initiator for the students’ stay was Prof. Dr. Olaf Huth from the HS Coburg, head […]
HANDS ON CONSERVATION II is a workshop for traditional carpentry, focussing on introducing and training the participants in traditional crafts techniques and materials, at the fortified church of Pelisor, Sibiu county. The Fortified Churches Foundation started the project HANDS ON CONSERVATION II, with the financial support from the National Architects […]
In the five days from 1 April, the HOG Holzmengen (community of emigrated Saxons) was very hard-working – some important measures were taken in and around the fortified church. The results are really impressive! The individual projects were discussed in advance by the advice and introduction of Sebastian Bethge, the […]
Monika Grütters, Commissioner of the German Federal Government for Culture and the Media (BKM), visited the Evangelical Church A. B. in Romania and the Transylvanian fortified church landscape on 15 April. The visit of the CDU politician took place in the run-up to meetings at ministerial level in Bucharest and […]
At the beginning of February, the so very urgent and important securing work could be carried out at the fortified church in Dobârca. After many discussions and site visits with local actors and various construction companies, it was now possible to erect an emergency roof. Instead of the collapsed choir […]
In October, several construction projects on the fortified church in Agârbiciu were completed: After architect Liviu Gligor finalised the building plans in the summer, the church roof, i.e. the nave and the choir, could be repaired. During the works, each tile was checked individually – and some of the roof […]
On 14 December 2018, Hans Klemm, Ambassador of the United States to Romania, visited the Evangelical Church A. C. in Romania and the Fortified Churches Foundation. The US diplomat presented Bishop Reinhart Guib with a symbolic cheque for 24,900 dollars for further work on the fortified church in Daia/Denndorf (Sighisoara […]
In der Zeit vom 05.-09.11.2018 wurde das dritte Modul des HANDS ON CONSERVATION-Workshops durchgeführt – traditionelles Handwerk für die Konservierung/Restaurierung der Kirchenburgen. Zielgruppe dieses Moduls waren die Burghüter. Wir haben diese Zeit mit den motivierten und engagierten Teilnehmern genossen, die mehr über die ordnungsgemäße Pflege von Kirchenburgen erfahren wollten – […]
A look of the altar of Bogeschdorf Bogeschdorf is situated in the Zwischenkokel area and north of Mediasch – in the 14th century the village belonged to the Mediasch chair as a free royal soil community, then to the Großkokel county and today it belongs to the district of Muresch. […]
From 10 to 14 September, the Fortified Churches Foundation welcomed two experts from the architectural office of Dr. Krekeler to Transylvania. The aim of the visit was to strategically and conceptually process the results of the investigations regarding the state of construction of twenty threatened fortified churches under the joint […]
Two eventful and successful workshop weeks ended on Friday – happy participants and trainers, as well as some vivid results and a lot of learned handicraft techniques were the result of the project HANDS ON CONSERVATION. The workshop, consisting of two modules (1st module: carpentry / 2nd module: masonry) was […]
The German landscape planner Jonas Arndt, founding member and chairperson of the churchfortress e. V. Friends of Hundertbücheln-Movile association, was a guest on 3 July, presenting the topic “Fortified churches and their open spaces – impulses from landscape architecture and environmental planning”. In a short introductory lecture Jonas Arndt dealt […]
On 28 February 2018, eleven students from the 3rd year of the “Coservation and Restoration” course at the University of Architecture and Urbanism Ion Mincu presented their proposals for the use of the Movile, Agârbiciu and Daia fortified churches. Under the direction of Professor Architect Liviu Gligor, the students had […]
The work on the fortified church in Șoarș (near Fog.), which began on 21 August, is becoming increasingly visible: the “back” of the historic dovetail and plain tile with the partial use of new, handmade plain tile. The old battens were also retained where possible and in good condition. The […]
The 49 tombstones, which were knocked over and devastated by vandalism at the end of 2016, were erected and secured again in July. Thanks to the generous donation of an emigrated Saxon from Șaeș and the additional funds provided by the “Support Association of the Fortified Churches Foundation”, the work […]
Hans Klemm, Ambassador of the United States of America in Bucharest, paid a brief visit to Agârbiciu and Daia in mid-July. Together with the one in Movile, the fortified churches in the two Transylvanian villages are benefiting from funds from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP). These budget funds […]
The Fortified Churches Foundation has been monitoring the endangered architectural situation of the fortified church in Copșa Mare with concern for some time. Sebastian Bethge, the representative of the Foundation for the Preservation of Monuments, has visited the site several times since the beginning of 2016. In addition to static […]
On 3 May 2017 the first emergency measures were carried out at the fortified church of Pelișor. It is located 22km south of Mediaș, in a side valley. For a long time no more worship services have been celebrated here and regular care could not be guaranteed until now. Thus […]
The Fortified Churches Foundation has repaired the bell tower of the Protestant church in Idiciu with an emergency measure as part of the roof programme. This was preceded in spring by the collapsing of the church roof. The first works organized by the Sighișoara district were able to provisionally secure […]
In November 2016, the church of Ormeniș was hit by burglary and vandalism and has been severely affected: window panes destroyed, locks and doors broken open and parts of the organ damaged. Pastor Johannes Halmen is sad, but not ready to give up the church and the small parish. The […]
From 9 to 11 November the European association “Future for Religious Heritage” invited it’s members and other participants to the 2016 Biennial Conference titled: “Tourists, Travellers & Pilgrims – Encountering Religious Heritage in Today’s Europe” to Vicenza, Italy. Besides a great number of speeches, presentations, discussions, and debates the FRH […]
It is dark in the bacon chamber of the fortified church in Agârbiciu. Bacon has not been stored here for a while but the numbered hooks on the ceiling timbers are still witnesses of the times when families came here daily to cut off a piece – of course making […]
The Fortified Churches Foundation is currently producing a travelling exhibition titled: “The Transylvanian Landscape of Fortified Churches. A European Cultural Heritage”. The concept and production were developed and organized in cooperation with the project partners Technical University Berlin and the German Cultural Forum for Central and Eastern Europe. Art historian […]
On 25 July 2016, the fortified churches of Felmer and Șoarș (near Fog.) were full of activity: people between cameras on tripods, ladders on the walls, papers, sketches and drawings. Preparations for care and emergency measures as part of the roof programme of the Fortified Churches Foundation were in full […]
In Tătârlaua, district Alba Iulia, well-preserved and artistically valuable wall paintings were discovered in the course of a plaster study in the choir. The restorer Lorand Kiss led the preliminary investigations. This art historical treasure was not expected to be found in the rather small and inconspicuous church of Tătârlaua […]
At the end of June, 6 students of the conservation and restoration course at the HAWK (University of Applied Sciences and Art) travelled from Hildesheim under the direction of Dipl.-Rest. Ralf Buchholz, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Albrecht and Susanne Karius, restorer M.A., through Transylvania – with some projects and following the […]
…Movile – a small, inconspicuous, remote place in the upper Harbach valley. Here you will find everything: movement and awakening, relaxation and return, outlook and hope, tradition and innovation, encounter and salvation. The latter, next to the fortified church and parish house, above all at the old teachers’ house. It […]
The monument conservator and art historian Arne Franke visited Transylvania between 22 and 28 February. The reason for his trip was to continue his research work for a large travelling exhibition on the subject of the landscape of fortified churches being developed on behalf of the Fortified Churches Foundation. Cooperating […]